All That Remains
by charles weatherby
Summary: The last survivors fighting against Voldemort have come to the edge of battle, barely keeping their balance. Intertwined tales swirl around, capturing new chapters, and yet the war rages on. But what will remain afterwards?
1. The Black

A/n: Hello! This is story number 5, only one more to go! Wow... please review! ( Oh, btw, I know this is in like three of my chappies, but I am still looking for a beta reader. So... I hope you enjoy!!!

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> > > The sky was a whirling grey, cascading down to fields blanketed with shadow and smoke. Tension, fear, loyalty, deceit was already thickening among the deep fog. Dark figures had begun to emerge from among the burnt trees surrounding the destroyed clearing. Stepping through the black, broken limbs and the still smoldering ash, they tried as best they could to remain unseen.  
  
All were covered with ash and dirt as they conversed quietly, hunching over. If one were to look at this ruined stretch of land from far away, you would not see the 20-or-so individuals huddling among what once was a majestic forest.  
  
"The time has come to fight. I feel them growing nearer..." "They are still a few days ahead of us... There is time to rest. We've been running for the last week... We should not rush war. " "I suppose." The tallest one, with jet-black hair, spoke as if he was superior to the others.  
  
Some of the travelers that had performed the disillusionment charm upon themselves were leaning against what was left of the trees, and crumpled to the ground at the thought of rest. Sleep embraced them, pulling them deeper into the spirit of the woods. Every being or creature that had passed through or would pass through this dark, gloomy strip of land was flitting through their dreams. During a terrible war between unknown races, a girl sat up abruptly, sweating profusely. She had been through so much pain in the last two years... An 18 year old... lying in the ashes... unmoving, but wide-awake all the same...  
  
A sound. Creeping through the black ash. Towards her...  
  
"Now or never... It's now or never... it's now or never..." It rasped, wrapping its words around her sensitive ears. The black shifted, became taller, wider, bigger and it crooned louder, willing her to scream or alert the others of its presence. "Now or never... Now or never...It's now or never..."  
  
She did not, would never, give in to its warnings, instead she began to cry softly, curling up with her arms wrapped around her bony knees. It smiled gruesomely, knowing it was close to what it desired. Licking its lips in greed, its face broke into a wider grin.  
  
"Now or never..." With that, the girl felt its presence dissipate... and she was left awake and alone once more.

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_A small girl was balanced upon a small, three-legged table, as another one, with flaming red hair, cheered her on. The girl had almost attained her target, a large, silvery mirror hung high up on the otherwise blank wall, and the other's cheers increased in volume and excitement. She reached up and grasped the very corner of the golden frame, causing it to swing back and forth on the hook dangerously. "I almost have it!" She cried resolutely, and stood on the very tips of her toes, grabbing at the corner. Leaning into it, she finally clutched the long mirror in her tiny, trembling hands. "I've got it!" She exclaimed triumphantly, lifting it joyfully off of the hook. Just as she was about to step down, the stool gave way. Her feet slipped as the table crashed to the ground, another one of its legs broken in half. A glass counter that had been adjacent to the stand shattered as the girl's head made contact with its fragile surface. Before the red-head could do so much as open her mouth, the mirror they had been trying to reach all morning smashed down on top of her unconscious friend. It broke into fragments upon hitting the girl's limp body; some of the shards forced into her skin. A terrified, shocked scream escaped the other's frail lips as she stared into the vacant eyes of her friend. Every breath the unconscious girl took brought up more blood, which sputtered and bubbled out of her open mouth. Tears of fright had sprung up in her own eyes, threatening to spill over as her brother and mother rushed into the room. "Ginny dear, what's wrong?!" Her mother cried, before she had a chance to lay eyes on the gruesome scene._

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> > > Suddenly, she felt someone roughly wrap their arms around her and begin to carry her somewhere. She tried to open her eyes, but her head was being held against her captor's grimy shirt. Panic bolted throughout her brain circuits, and she wondered if this was the End. She did not resist, as the End was inevitable, but soon the journey ended, and she was softly set down.  
  
"Shhh... It's all right..." a voice crooned gently into her ear, whilst the hand that was not clamped around her waist stroked her hair soothingly. She kept her eyes shut tight, as she thought that maybe she could hold off the terror for just a few more minutes. The man rocked her back and forth, willing her to calm down.  
  
Comprehension dawned, and a ray of blinding light shone through the misty darkness that had enveloped her mind. Her breathing slowed considerably, and the man quickly let go of her. Eyes snapping open, she gazed around the space that she now occupied.  
  
She was sitting in the man's lap, comfortably positioned between his legs. Ashes and skeletons of leaves crunched beneath her bare feet as she stood up slowly, wondering what had happened. She realized that she had been carried deep into the forest, and a terrifying thought hit her: what if they had been found? In that case... they would have wanted her and another to remain alive... just so their entire cause wouldn't become extinct.  
  
"What happened?" she whispered, fear entering her voice.  
  
"You had a nightmare, and you kept screaming something. We couldn't make out the word, but we were worried you'd wake something up... Either that, or alert Voldemort of our presence." He said, sighing heavily. She didn't like the way he said "something"; it sent shivers up her spine. He turned to face her, and rested a weathered, rough hand upon her severely thin shoulder blade. "Don't worry... we're alright for now..." He breathed, squeezing her shoulder in assurance.  
  
She couldn't tell exactly who he was; only that he was one of the Americans. From the sound of his voice, though, she thought it might be Matthew. Gradually, the dream she had been having began to come back to her in bits and pieces.  
  
She had drifted to sleep a few hours after the black creature had left her, and again memories of someone who had passed through the stretch of land inhabited her dreams. This one however, was not of a certain event that had happened in the forest, it was a memory. The worst memory that person had ever acquired. A memory of her best friend dying, right in front of her eyes, and it was all her fault.  
  
Soon, after she had recollected every tiny detail from the dream, she realized whose memory it was, and collapsed into the other wizard's arms. She wrapped her own arms around his neck and sobbed openly, wondering why she was still alive, when Ginny was dead.  
  
"What's wrong? Hermione?" He asked, startled. This caused her to cry even harder, and her grip around his neck tightened considerably. He started to rub her back in hopes of comforting her. "Shhh... It's ok..."  
  
"Why is it me? Why wasn't it Lavender, or Padma, or Ginny?" She managed to choke out in between sobs. "Ginny..."  
  
"You were the only one brave enough... cunning enough... to escape," He said softly, after a particularly large sob from Hermione.  
  
"No! I was a coward!" She paused to wipe away the tears that were streaming down her pale face. "Ginny died for me! Lavender, Padma, they both died in war!" She was crying harder than ever, holding on to Matthew for dear life. "It's all my fault Ginny's dead!"

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A/n: So, Did you like it???? You've got to review, or else I won't get any better. Plus, I like them. They make me feel warm and fuzzy inside.


	2. Daughter

> > > > > A/n: Hello! Thanks to my many reveiwers, Ninde Annare, MadJupiter, and Hydrangea777. Also, Thanks to my awesome beta, half of Hydrangea777. She is the reason that this chappie doesn't completely suck. :) So, I hope you enjoy!
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>>>>> **"Master... they've reached the Wood." A small, hooded man emerged from the surrounding darkness.  
  
"Wood? Which Wood? There are many Woods..." another man drawled regally.  
  
"The Wood of Ayuwan, Sir."  
  
"It won't be long now..." Contemptuous laughter filled the frigid air. The cloaked man gave a low bow and disappeared into the darkness once again, his master's hand impatiently shooing him away. The "Master" sat up straight in his tall wooden throne, which rested upon a marble pedestal high above the shadows stretched across the ground. The torches that encircled him bathed the throne in a warm, orange glow, making the minions beneath seem as if they weren't there at all.  
  
As he sat atop his lonely perch, fingers absentmindedly stroking his chin, a smirk played about his thin lips as he contemplated how the so-called "survivors" would come to ruin. "The Wood of Ayuwan!" He repeated mockingly, laughing disdainfully at their complete ignorance and stupidity. "Well, it'll certainly make things easier... Much easier..." He whispered excitedly, chilling the hearts of those around him.**
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>>>>> _Rain pounded against the windows, lightning illuminated the sky; claps of thunder accompanying each strike. Patrick Malfoy was huddled in a dark corner behind his father's desk, staring blankly as his father and sister fought. Rather, it was more his father fighting than Adeline. Adel was not Draco's child, but Blaise Zabini's.  
  
He usually hid in his room whilst these fights took place, but this time he was caught off guard. Merely trying to escape from the thunderstorm, he had run to his father's study, where a large and cozy desk was positioned in one of the corners. He had just hidden himself underneath the desk's legs when Adel appeared at the doorway. She had glanced around nervously, and then darted to the bookcase, where she began to search rapidly for the book that she needed. A few moments later, Draco had barged into the small room, demanding to know why she was there; only Patrick and he were allowed into the study. The fight that followed was one of their worst, resulting in hysterics on Adel's part and severe anger on Draco's.  
  
They were screaming, Draco towering over Adel with his wand raised. "STUPEFY!" His cry rang out through the Spartan study, and his sister slumped to the ground. He angrily slammed his fist against the wall in frustration, and then proceeded to drag Adel back to her room, letting her head thump against the cold stone floor of the hallway. After a particularly large clap of thunder, Patrick shrank against the wall, still gazing emptily out at the vacant room. Even at the tender age of six, he knew that these fights were not normal; Draco was blatantly violent and Adeline, only in her fourth year at Hogwarts, was unable to defend herself properly. Of course, Pansy was oblivious to the fights; all she was concerned about was their wealth and the state of their Grand Manor.  
  
As an enormous bolt of lightning illuminated the room, Patrick snapped out of his shock and stood up. It changed, morphed into a different room. It was much smaller, and Patrick was kneeling on the floor, staring through a small hole cut into the stone wall. There were no windows; it was a dungeon- like place: damp, dark, and cold, with a few starved rats congregating in the dank corners.  
  
On the other side of the wall, Adeline and Draco were fighting again, with even more violence than before. Both wands were raised, pointed at each other's hearts. Angry white sparks were shooting from the tips, hate burning red in their eyes. All was silent; only Adel's ragged breaths broke the quiet. Draco was staring down at her, a small, malevolent smile twitching at his lips.  
  
A single, angry tear drifted down her pallid cheeks as her grip tightened on the wand in her shaking hands; she hated him with everything she had. All of it was so unfair! With a sudden burst of bravery, she yelled an incantation at him, in hopes of defending herself, possibly creating a small diversion so she could run. Draco just smirked at her feeble attempts at protection, and a dark substance rose out of his own wand, creating a shield.  
  
Patrick knew what was coming. He swiftly, nervously jumped through the hole in the stone; he was small enough to fit through it. He threw himself in front of his sister, hoping to take the lethal spell in place of her, but Adeline pushed him out of the way. He didn't understand that if he died, Draco would merely shove him aside and kill Adel; that she would die no matter what. However, for a moment, his father looked as if he was reconsidering the situation because of this act. He must have thought better of it.  
  
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" he yelled, wand pointing straight at his "daughter's" heart. Patrick shielded his eyes against the green flash of light, and when he looked up, his beloved sister was lying on the floor, eyes blank and expressionless. Tears were threatening to spill out of his eyes, when Draco firmly grasped his son's arm. Patrick shrieked from the pain of his father's grip, and tried fruitlessly to wrench his arm away.  
  
"Malfoys do not cry!" he growled furiously, dragging Patrick up the many flights of stairs to his room. Upon reaching his son's door, which was decorated with Slytherin emblems and banners, he violently jerked it open and threw him inside. "And stay there, until you can stop sniveling!"_
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>>>>> As the dream dissolved, blurry figures swam into focus in front of Jack's rapidly blinking eyes. Trying to stand up, he soon realized that the figures were holding him down.  
  
"What's the deal?" he said angrily, temper rising.  
  
"I don't know... the girl had the same problem an hour ago. You were screaming in your sleep." Suddenly all of the haziness disappeared, and Jack could clearly make out Nikolas' face. As he gradually began to remember bits and pieces of the dream, a massive bolt of pain ran through his temples. Clutching his forehead, he stumbled to his feet and over to the water basin someone had conjured. He splashed water against his face, making him more awake, and less groggy and confused. Signaling to Nikolas and the few others that he was all right, he stumbled over to the place where the person he trusted the most was tossing and turning in his sleep.  
  
"Marco, Marco!" He shook his friend's shoulders repeatedly until the frail frame of a man awoke.  
  
"What?" Marco mumbled, opening his eyes blearily. Another wave of pain hit, and his hands again flew to his forehead. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing... nothing..." He muttered, trying to ignore his throbbing head. "But... have you ever heard of 'Draco Malfoy'?"  
  
"Ask him." Marco replied, pointing to the leader and wishing direly to get at least another hour of sleep. He hadn't slept for...a week, at least. As soon as his friend began making his way through the ashes, Marco fell into a sweet, dreamless slumber, which was far different from the terrible dreams he had been having before. It was welcomed.
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>>>>> Harry Potter was sitting on the edge of a cliff nestled deep into the part of the woods that was still untouched, far away from his companions. Sitting with his back against a tree, he sat in peaceful silence, occasionally tossing a rock down into the dark crevice. The sound of crunching leaves alerted him to an approaching visitor, and he stood up, brushing off his pants, despite the fact that they were already covered with dirt and grime.  
  
"What?" He demanded indignantly as Jack approached him, curling his upper lip in an entirely Slytherin way. He was perfectly content by himself, planning and staring blankly into the wasteland.  
  
"Do you know who Draco Malfoy is?" Jack inquired boldly, without beating around the bush.  
  
"What do you want to know about him?" Harry questioned irritably, suddenly very interested, but still quite angry with the man for interrupting his moment of peace.  
  
"Do you know who he is?" The man replied persistently. Obviously, he would not be distracted.  
  
"Yes." he sighed heavily, and sneered. "He was my enemy at school... and became a full-fledged Death Eater in his seventh year. He's a very dangerous man. I suggest keeping away from him."  
  
"All right."  
  
"Why?" Harry said nastily, trying not to show the curiosity that was permeating throughout his overflowing mind.  
  
"No reason..." Jack answered vaguely, rubbing his forehead with filthy hands. This only annoyed Harry more. He was in charge; he should know what was happening!  
  
"Tell me!" He roared, standing over Jack menacingly, eyes burning with anger.  
  
"Nothing! I just had a dream-he killed a child! Is that good enough?" He whispered fearfully, holding up his hands in a pacifying manner, and quickly jogged back to where the others were resting.  
  
Harry resumed his place along the edge of the crevice, his busy mind a little more crowded.  
  
He tossed a rock into the deep chasm, and listened to it echo off the sides and finally drop down to the bottom. As his thoughts began to blur together, he finally allowed himself to drift off to sleep. This was an immense decision. He hadn't slept in weeks.
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>>>>>> A/n: You must tell me what you thought! Did you like it? Btw- I'm sorry about all of the OC's. There are only like 20 survivors (21, actually) that are fighting against Voldemort. It would seem kind of fishy if they all were from Hogwarts... So, I'll have my next chappie up soon! (Hopefully)
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>>>>>> Ta ta! - Charles


	3. The Other Side of the Coin

"Simply exquisite, Lara!" Pansy exclaimed with a noticeably fake smile; the 'salad' she had just tasted was most certainly not exquisite. Although, she really shouldn't have been complaining; it was the most filling meal she'd had in weeks... no, months.

"What do you expect, Pansy?" Lara growled indignantly, recognizing the smile as her own and shaking her wooden spoon in the once-beautiful girl's face. "Just be glad we have something to occupy our time and mindset! The men, they're just standing at the foot of 'Master', standing so still in their robes of black. You can't tell that they're even human!" With this, a rogue tear wound its way down her bony cheek. She angrily wiped it away and turned her attention back to the salad of leaves and grass.

Pansy's face visibly lit up at the thought of Draco, eyes turning glossy in the dim light of the wand someone had bewitched to hang from the ceiling. Lara was gazing up at Pansy as she finished making the rest of the 'salad' they had scraped together, a look of disgust evident on her chiseled features. "The war is almost over; then you can have him all to yourself..." She sighed, patting a teary-eyed Pansy on the shoulder. "At least he had mind enough to pay for your dress."

A trembling hand reached down to stroke her "new" dress, which was hopelessly tattered now, as she unhappily whispered, "I hardly ever see him... only from afar... when he's on top of his stupid throne."

"Come on, we have to give this food to the men. You can do it." She reached for her wand, urging Pansy to do the same, and they enchanted each crude, wooden bowl into the air. Before they could make their way out of the makeshift kitchen, a skeletal hand seized Pansy's shoulder. A terrified gasp escaped from her lips and the wand dropped from her trembling fingers.

"Excuse me, Missss Parkinssson, where issssss Malfoy?" A voice you would imagine to belong to a snake slithered out from underneath a dark hood, belonging to a tall figure hidden beneath flowing robes. "I really must ssssspeak with him..."

"Er... Follow us, my Lord..." She stuttered, both of them stooping into low bows.

"I'd prefer to lead."

"In that case, he's up on his throne... it's in the middle of a clearing over that way." Lara told him contemptuously, an actual smile crossing her lips; she knew this would probably result in Draco's demotion or torture. She liked Draco even less than she liked Harry Potter, which was certainly saying something. However, she crossed her fingers anyway, for Pansy's sake.

The two women followed him out to where his minions stood, waiting. At least the men stood, anyways. The other women were busy fixing wands and scraping together provisions as Pansy and Lara had been doing just a moment ago.

"Lord Voldemort arrives!" The masked figure bellowed, pulling down his hood and revealing his snake-like face for all to see. Every follower erupted into low bows, foreheads touching the ground, and even Draco Malfoy himself drifted down from atop his throne to greet the Lord.

Suddenly, about five people emerged from the surrounding forest, all in black robes.

"We've found…" One of them shouted, pausing to try to catch his breath. "We've found… meat!"

The supposed meat became apparent as a hulking lump was dragged to the foot of the throne. It was an un-classifiable species, but it was red meat, so therefore it was welcomed. (All they had had to eat was the occasional fish and some bugs plucked from the insides of logs.)

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A:N/ Hey guys! Vair vair short chappie sorry '( hehe sorry for the hold up too… not that very many people really like it lol. I may just edit the whole thing. However, I think my writing has gotten worse instead of better, which would make it not very useful to try editing anything - well, if anyone still lieks it, here it is! Woooo typoes heart

- charles


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